Filler
by Anon3
Summary: A special tournament. Not about Arai. Sorry for the confusion ^_^() Non-shounen ai, OC, slight language.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If Tenipuri belonged to me, this story would appear in the manga, right? So by inductive reasoning, Tenipuri and all its characters do not belong to me, and I am just borrowing the characters. :( Please cheer me up by reviewing. Arigato!

Notes on text: 

************************* marks flashbacks. 

_Italics_ generally marks thoughts. 

Dialogue spoken in English marked by single quotes.

Arai let the locker room door slam after him. He wanted to send a clear signal: _Stay the hell away from me. He was in one of his moods again, and his club mates knew better than to approach him when he got like that. It happened all too often, and the best course of action is to just let him cool down on his own._

            As Arai stormed his way onto the tennis court, the events that took place earlier in the day kept replaying in his head.

************************

            It had taken him weeks to get up the courage to decide to talk to her, to ignore her friends who stared and whispered when he pulled her aside. He was having trouble articulating himself. All he could do was imagine how great he'd look with one of the most the beautiful and popular girls in the class on his arm. He was so lost in his daydream that he barely heard her speak.

            "What?"

            "I said I'm sorry Arai-kun," she said.

            "What?" He still hadn't snapped completely back into reality.

            "I said I'm sorry I can't go out with you, " she replied, a little impatient now. "I kinda like somebody else," she added quietly.

            Arai felt his anger rising. "Who?!" he demanded.

The reputation Arai had for his bad temper was wide-spread and well-known. He must take her for an idiot to expect an answer to that question. "It's not really any of your business," she said brusquely. "Look, Arai-kun, I _am flattered, but, well, I'm just really, really sorry. I have to go… class will start soon." She walked away from him and was quickly assimilated into her waiting circle of friends, who began chattering excitedly. He rushed off to his class to avoid them._

            He was fuming. The entire day, a trial of whispers and chuckles followed him wherever he went. He just _knew that they were talking about him, and he did not appreciate that. In fact, it infuriated him. Arai kept his eye on her the entire day to see who could possibly be his rival. He wondered how he had missed those quick glances she kept throwing to a certain boy in the class._

_Hmpf, that's using the term "boy" loosely_.

The apparent object of her affections was the so-called prince of the class. A member of student council, he was a soft-spoken _thing with effeminate features. He knew many girls went for that type of boy, but he did not understand why. Hell, Arai had mistaken him for a girl the first time he saw him. If it hadn't been for boy's uniform, he would have never known. He had hated that rich, spoiled brat ever since that first day, and of course, now the sight of him pissed Arai off even more._

*************************

            The school day had ended, and he was still fuming. He had changed quickly so that he would be the first one on the court. He wanted to be alone so he could take out some of his anger on a few tennis balls. That was why he became even more pissed off when he caught sight of an unfamiliar figure already on the courts.

This was definitely not someone in the club. Arai gave this person an once-over and made a quick assessment – he was a quite bit shorter and smaller than himself, wearing a cap that covered half of his face, baggy warm-ups. A skinny hand protruding from the baggy clothes was moving up and down quickly, grasping a tennis racket, bouncing a tennis ball up and down.

PYON PYON PYON PYON

            "Hey you. What are you doing on the court? We're using the courts for practice. Only members are allowed here," Arai demanded at the stranger.

_He's not even looking at me…. Arrogant brat!_ Suddenly, Arai had a flashback to the first day of tennis club, the day he was humiliated by that damned first-year, Echizen Ryoma. Of course, the memory that day only incensed Arai further. _What a horrible day this has been! I can't believe I now have to deal with this jackass!_

"Who the hell do you think you are, you damned first-year brat?!"

The shorter form turned towards Arai with a tilt of the head, but still said nothing as the tennis racket continued moving up and down.

PYON PYON PYON PYON

By this time, a vein on Arai's forehead had appeared and was threatening to pop. _Good, I was looking for a good fight! Arai stepped forward to grab the shorter one's free arm._

            Takeshi Momoshiro and Ryoma Echizen hurried to the locker room.

            "Hurry up, Echizen, or we'll be late and Oishi-sempai will make us run laps!" the taller boy told the smaller one.

            "It's your fault Momo-sempai. You were the one who wanted to stop by the cafeteria first!"

            "But I was hungry," Momo whined. "I hardly had anything for lunch! And what way is that to talk to your sempai? Show me some respect here!"

            "Mada mada dane," the boy replied, right before he slammed into older boy. "Momo-sempai! What's wrong with you?!"

            He turned to look at what his sempai was looking at, and he realized why Momo had stopped so abruptly. Of course, standing in the middle of main court were Arai and a stranger. The former looked like he was about to grab and hit the smaller form, while the latter looked on, nonchalantly bouncing a ball on a tennis racket.

            The air of indifference that exuded from that punk, even while being held by the arm, infuriated Arai. _He's still bouncing that stupid ball. Show-off! He could practically see the smirk on the brat's face, even though, in reality, the cap had obscured everything from his view. He pulled his fist back, ready to wipe that smirk off._

            "Arai!! Stop!" Momo yelled, as he ran towards the two. Ryoma followed behind slowly.

Arai stopped to look at the boy that was approaching. He let go of the shorter form's arm, unsatisfied.

_Dammit_. _Damn damn damn damn damn! As much as he wanted to send the kid flying to the fence, he wouldn't dare do it in front of Momoshiro. Arai was reasonably certain that this boy would be Seigaku's tennis team's next captain. _Well it sure isn't going to be the mamushi and it **can't**_ _be the first-year_, Arai thought. He could not afford to make an enemy out of him. That, and the fact that Momo was known for being a powerhouse had not escape Arai._

"What are you doing Arai? Picking on cute little kids?" He turned to look at the person in the hat, who was looking at him. Or at least that's what it seemed like to Momo. He couldn't tell since the cap covered so much. _He looks like Echizen, Momo thought amusedly. _Well, he's a little taller than Echizen_._

"Momo! This brat was disrespecting…."

"Ryoma!" was the first word out of the short person's mouth, interrupting Arai in the middle of his defense.

Ryoma looked up at the shortest of the three people standing in front of him, and a slight smirk appeared on his face.

            "Oi Echizen, you know this first-year?" Momo inquired.

            "I'm not a first-year."

            "What?!" Momo and Arai said at the same time.

            Momo saw the smirk on Ryoma's face grow into an obnoxious grin.

            "I said I am not a first-year. I'm a second-year."

            "No way!" Momo exclaimed in amazement. "You're the same year as us?!?" Arai just stood, not convinced. Suddenly, on an inspired thought, he reached out and grabbed the cap.

From that feminine voice, Arai had expected long flowing hair to fall out from the hat, and a beautiful face to look up at him. Instead what appeared was a scowling face (_Damn, he **is a boy**_, Arai thought)_ and black hair that was tightly held in a bun (_What type of queer-ass wears his hair in a bun?_)_

"Huh? A bun?" Momo asked confusedly.

Giving a sigh, the source of their amazement turned to the first-year and asked, 'They don't get it, do they? Are your friends kinda slow?'

PYON PYON PYON PYON

'Yes.'

'Nice to see you're as blunt and talkative as ever. So, Ryoma, how are you? It's been a long time. I haven't spoken to you since we were on the podium for the last championship before you left.'

Ryoma made a sound of indifference in response. Meanwhile, Momo looked at the two people in front of him, very confused and a little put off by the fact that Ryoma had not explained himself. Momo was no dummy. He did okay in his classes, but English was not one of his strong suits. He could only catch a few words of their conversation; they were speaking too rapidly for him to understand everything. He turned to look at Arai, only to find him quaking with anger.

"You stupid kid, who the hell are you?"

For a response, Arai found a pair of big brown eyes boring holes into him. Arai studied the features of the face that held those eyes and found them entirely too feminine. It reminded him of the reason he had been pissed off the entire day. _I don't care if Momo turns against me. I want to wipe that smirk off his arrogant face._ "What the hell is with those eyes? Don't take that attitude with me! What the hell kind of boy are you supposed to be? You look more like a girl than a boy! People like you make me sick!"

He pulled his arm back, ready to hit him when he heard a soft, cheery voice ask, "What was that?"

Arai spun around to see the smiling tensai, third-year Syuusuke Fuji. _Shit! Shit, shit, shit!!!! If Arai had been afraid of starting something in front of Momo, he was absolutely terrified of doing it in front of Fuji. It was not simply because he was an upperclassman, but well, the short quiet boy who always wore a smile scared him. Arai might have a temper, but even he was not stupid enough to cross the tensai. No one was._

"Ah, Fuji-sempai! I was just teaching this first-year to show us upperclassmen some respect."

"_I said **I.AM.A._SECOND_.YEAR! What part of that don't you get?" the frustrated figure asked the taller boys and then turned to the shortest boy, 'Ryoma, am I not saying it right? I mean, I know my Japanese is a bit rusty, but I know I can say something as simple as that!!' The tennis racket was now moving faster, harder.**_

**PYONPYONPYON**

"You are saying it right," Ryoma responded in Japanese. Not that anyone could tell by his expression, but he was very amused by the situation.

"Ne, Echizen. Care to introduce us to your friend?" Momo asked.

"Not really."

"You really don't think of me as your sempai, do you?"

"Why should I?"

"Why you…"

"Momoshiro, Echizen, Tsuyoshi! Why aren't you guys dressed yet?" a sharp stinging voice barked at them.

The five looked toward the source of the voice. "Baasan! Uh, we were just going! Heh heh" Momo chuckled. "Come on Echizen."

"Ryusaki-sensei, I can't wear this?"

"No, go put on your uniform. Then come to my office."

With a small sigh, a slender hand was extended towards Arai. "My hat."

Arai huffed and handed over the cap.

Fuji smiled as he watched the figure walk off the court. _Hmm, this should be interesting._

Momo changed into his regular's uniform in record time once they reached the locker room. As he put his school uniform in his cubby, he turned to first-year, "Hey Echizen, what's the story on your friend? Where did he go anyway? Didn't baachan tell him to change? I was going to ask him some questions."

"…"

**A/N: Is it obvious? Anyway, please review.**

**Next chapter" The identity of the mysterious person is revealed!**


	2. Chapter 2

The courts were buzzing with chatter about this new club member that had gotten Arai so riled up. Sadaharu Inui walked from group to group, listening in to their conversations and occasionally jotting down things in his notebook. Apparently, it was a first-year or second-year, who rambled in English and Japanese, and was friends with the first-year regular. Everyone was curious and had hoped that the acting captain would shed some light on the situation, but as he was getting ready to begin their usual warm-up run, he was called to Ryusaki-sensei's office. He left in a hurry, but not before giving the order of 20 laps to all club members.

            "Hey Momo, what's going on?" Eiji Kikumaru asked as they were running. "Who's this new guy everyone's talking about?"

            "New guy? Is he going to take someone's place?" Takashi Kawamura asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

            "Hey ochibi-chan, you know him right? What's he like? Is it really true? Does he really wear his hair in a bun? The only person I know who wears their hair in a bun is my grandma!" Kikumaru remarked.

            Ryoma gave no response except to run ahead.

            "Hmmm, it seems that Echizen does not want to try my special Inui Juice today. I'm trying out a new formula today, with the taste thoroughly adjusted," Inui said, running alongside Kikumaru, Momo, and Taka-san.

            "Ehhhh????" the trio screeched. The color drained from their faces as they turned their concentration back to the most important task at hand: running for their lives.

            Fuji could only chuckle as he increased his speed to keep up – he was not going to be robbed of the fun of watching someone else drink the juice yet again.

            Oishi knocked on the door to Ryusaki's office and was greeted with a "Come in."

            The acting captain entered the room to see Ryusaki-sensei seated at her desk and a girl looking out the window that overlooked the courts.

            _Wow, they're so motivated! It's amazing, they're actually gaining speed after that many laps!_            

"Well, Oishi, Kuroko-san sent over a player as you requested, second-year Elizabeth Ayazumi Tsuyoshi, regular member of the girls' tennis club."

_"Elizabeth"_ _huh? I wonder if she is an Amerikajin._

            The girl turned around, took a step towards the acting captain, extended her hand towards the boy and, looking him straight in the eyes, said "Oishi… nice to meet you."

Oishi looked at her for a second before taking her hand in a handshake and introducing himself, "Syuichiroh Oishi. Nice to meet you, Tsuyoshi-kun."__

Aya tilted her head to the side for a moment, her brows furrowed. Then her face lit up in realization of her mistake, and a small, embarrassed grin came onto her face. "Excuse me! I am so sorry! I keep forgetting and doing things the American way." She took a small step back and gave a slight bow to the older boy in front of her. "I am Elizabeth Ayazumi Tsuyoshi, but please call me Aya. Nice to meet you, Oishi-sempai, and please excuse my rudeness," she said in a very formal voice.

Oishi smiled as he assured her that she need not apologize nor be that formal, earning him yet another embarrassed grin. "So Aya-kun, did Ryusaki-sensei tell you why you're here?"

"Yup! It sounds very interesting," Aya answered.

"Then, you want to play with us?"

"Of course! I would love a chance to play with the famous Seigaku boys' team."

Suddenly, laughter erupted from behind the two students. Aya turned to see Ryusaki-sensei laughing heartily at the window. "You two should get going. It looks like they're done with the laps," Ryusaki-sensei said between hearty laughs, wiping a tear from her eye. A puzzled Aya shot a look at Oishi, wondering if he knew what was going on, only to find the boy with the interesting haircut sweating nervously and looking quite pale.

            "So, you're from America?" Oishi asked as the two made their way down to the tennis courts. "One of our regulars is also from America."

            "Right, Ryoma," Aya answered.

            "You know him? Did you go to school together?"

            "Oh no, we're actually from completely different sides of the country. He's from New York, and I'm from California."

            "How do you know each other then?"

            "We played in the same circuit. We've played in the same tournaments several times."

"Echizen played on the national level in America?!" Oishi exclaimed.

            "Ryoma? He…" Aya stopped. _Could it be? It sounds like he doesn't know. Well, guess the brat never told them. Oops.  "Well, they were junior tournaments for students," she said vaguely. "Um, so, does he still have that wonderful knack for pissing off people he's just met?" she asked, earning a nervous chuckle from her sempai._

            Luckily, Oishi changed the subject back to her as they arrived at the courts to find all of the club members lying in a heap near a table. Well, almost. The boy whom Aya had seen before was leaning against the fence, while a very tall boy with spiky hair and wearing glasses was madly scribbling in a notebook.

            "Hey! Who's that with Oishi-sempai?" Momo asked as he gasped for air. There was something familiar about her that Momo couldn't quite put his finger on. As they came closer, Momo realized why. _It can't be…._

            Everyone looked up to see Oishi approach with a girl in a girls' tennis regular uniform. 

Kikumaru eyed the figure who seemed to be speaking closely with his doubles partner. "Oishi", he said in a near-whisper. Then a huge, mischievous grin snaked its way across his face. Forgetting his exhaustion, he bounced up and pounced on the raven-haired boy. "Oishi, sneaky! You've been keeping secrets from me! Aren't you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?"

            "Eh???" Oishi turned bright red. "Eiji! Don't joke around like that! You may give her the wrong idea!"

            "So, she's not your girlfriend?" Kikumaru said slowly. The redhead leaned over Oishi, closer to a wide-eyed Aya and flashed a silly teeth-baring grin. "That would mean she's available?"

            "Eiji! Stop!" Oishi reprimanded, earning a pout from the charged acrobat. "You're making her feel uncomfortable!" The flustered boy pried his doubles partner off and in the calmest and most authoritative voice he could manage, yelled out, "All members on the courts! I have an announcement to make!"

            Aya looked at the rows of boys lined up facing her and the acting captain. She observed the seven regulars who were standing in the very front. On one end was Ryoma looking most uninterested. Next to him was Momoshiro, who was staring at Aya as if she were an alien, and next to him was a surly looking boy in an orange bandanna. In the middle stood a tall boy with a friendly face and a timid smile, and next to him was the energetic redhead, who was having trouble standing still. In complete contrast was the boy next to him. The boy from before still had on a serene, almost amused smile. At the end of the line, opposite of Ryoma, in more ways than one, stood the tall, spiky-haired boy who was holding a notebook at his side. Everyone looked to be in great shape, and suddenly, Aya felt extremely self-conscious. She could hear the murmurs from behind the line of regulars; the club members were having trouble containing their curiosity. She breathed a sigh of relief when Oishi began talking.

            "Ahem," Oishi waited for them to quiet down. "Two weeks ago, I received an email from Kiyosumi Sengoku of Yamabuki Middle School. It was an invitation sent out to some of the schools that participated in the regional tournament. He had convinced his coach to let him organize a special contest to be held in two weeks at his school. The invitation included a challenge to Seigaku and Fudomine to let the other schools get a chance at revenge at a friendly competition. Even though nationals begin in three weeks, I have accepted their challenge."

*************************

            Oishi was surprised when he checked his email that night. It had been only three days since he took over Tezuka's duties, and he had found himself with less and less time. Checking email had to be one of the activities that got cut. Even then, he was surprised to open up his inbox to find 42 new emails, most of which were from students in the regional rival teams.

            His first instinct was to say no when he read Sengoku's invitation. The date fell right in between the break between Kantou and nationals, and he figured that his team would need that break. It was hard to turn down a direct challenge, even a light-hearted one, but his team's health was at stake here. However, as he read the correspondence between the other captains and Sengoku, he became more and more convinced that this was going to be fun. As expected, Fudomine was one of the teams that had not responded as they, like Seigaku, were playing in the semi-finals of Kantou at the time.

            Oishi chose to speak with Ryusaki-sensei before making a decision, but he knew that the ultimate decision would fall on him. As expected, she told him of the pros and cons, but left the burden of deciding with him.

            What finally helped Oishi make up his mind was seeing the members at practice that day. He noticed that everyone was trying hard, but seemed to have lost concentration. The pressure of the semi-finals and the absence of their captain, compounded with the growing doubt as to whether Tezuka would return in time for nationals, were pushing his team hard. _Too hard_, the naturally caring boy decided. As the last captain to respond, Oishi accepted the challenge posed to him. He also decided to keep it a surprise until after Kantou was over, so his team would have one less thing to worry about.

*************************

            "So, what's so special about the tournament, Oishi-sempai?" Momo asked.

            "The tournament will have two singles matches and two doubles matches."

            "Uh, so what's so special about that?"

            "Ahh," a slight blush spread over Oishi's cheeks as he explained. "Sengoku-san was, um, _very insistent on having female players in the tournament." To be exact, the words he had used were actually "I want to see lots of the cute, cute girls that go to the different schools here, especially the ones from Seigaku." Oishi had, naturally, assumed that it was a joke, but it would have been too embarrassing to repeat those words in front of the team, especially in front Aya. _I'm sure she already feels awkward enough._ "So, one of the doubles matches, the main event, in fact, will be a mixed doubles match. That's where she comes in." Oishi gestured to Aya. "This is Elizabeth Ayazumi Tsuyoshi. Aya-kun is a second-year regular on the girls' team. She has agreed to be our mixed doubles partner for the tournament."_

            Aya gave a small bow to the group in front of her, where a low murmur was growing. "Elizabeth? She doesn't look like an 'Elizabeth'." "What were you expecting?" "Someone blond or something. She's not even a _gaijin_."

            Oishi cleared his throat to get his club's attention. "As I was saying, Aya-kun will be training with us until the tournament takes place. Please make her feel welcomed." The club responded affirmatively. "Now, first-years get ready for balls running! Second and third years on C court. Regulars will be on A and B courts."

            Aya watched as everyone but the regulars scrambled off. The seven now gathered around her and the boy with the close-cropped hair, who began introductions. "Aya-kun, these are our regulars: second-years Takeshi Momoshiro and Kaoru Kaidoh."

            The boy in the bandanna, avoiding eye-contact, grunted a greeting, while the boy with the spiky hair waved with one hand and ran the other hand through his hair, all the while sporting an embarrassed grin.

            Oishi continued "Third-years Takashi Kawamura …" who gave Aya shy smile and introduced himself in an uncertain voice.

"…Sadaharu Inui …Inui!" The boy's head snapped up from his notebook, said a quick "Nice to meet you", and then turned his attention back to scribbling. Aya thought she heard him mumble something that sounded like "159 cm."

"Inui! Put that notebook down. Why do you need data on her?" 

Aya watched as the tallest boy flipped to another page and scribbled down something while mumbling that sounded like "okaasan."

Oishi sighed. "This is Syusuke Fuji …" The tensai smiled warmly as usual as he greeted her. _How creepy. His eyes are closed again. Does he ever open them? I wonder what color they are. _Aya found herself thinking.

            "… and this is…" Oishi was cut off by the bouncing ball of energy.

            "Hoi hoi! I'm Eiji Kikumaru! How long have you two known each other? How did you guys meet? Are you really not his girlfriend?"

            "Eiji!"

            "What, _Syu-kun?" Kikumaru grinned at the taller boy._

Aya watched the two boys in front of her begin to bicker. Oishi was beginning to lecture the other how he should be more considerate, while Kikumaru teasingly accused Oishi of having a secret affair and not telling him about it.

Aya's head began to spin. This was all just a little bit too overwhelming.

"Don't worry about them, Tsuyoshi-kun. They're always like that," Fuji said to the distressed girl.

Seeing his amused smile helped her calm down. "Oh. Ahh, please call me Aya, that's what I'm used to." Then she turned to the Golden Pair. "Ano…" she interrupted. "Kikumaru-sempai, I met Oishi-sempai about ten minutes ago in Ryusaki-sensei's office."

"Aww," Kikumaru said disappointedly. "Well, that's no fun."

"See? And, uh, where was I? Oh yes, Echizen," a worn-out Oishi said.

"Ryoma."

"Aya," he replied. Momo's fist promptly made contact with the top of his head. "Sempai."

"All right, let's not waste any more time and start practice! Inui, explain what we'll be doing."

**A/N: Yup, it's an girl. I noticed that there aren't that many female characters in TeniPuri, not at Seigaku anyway, so I added one. There's been a rash of stories with OC girls lately, yay. I hope the characters aren't too OOC here.**

**Next chapter: Why is Aya at Seigaku? Did she follow Echizen here? (The answer is no.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes:**

**Wow, I actually got some reviews. Thank you! Sorry for the confusion. The story plays in my head like an episode of the anime, and I'm not really good at transferring that to words. I've never tried writing before!**

**Again, sadly, the characters do not belong to me.******

            Practice went pretty smoothly. The drills were not particularly hard, but still Aya made several stupid mistakes. It was hard not to feel self-conscious when the person on the next court was Fuji. The tensai had not made one single mistake all afternoon and in fact, did not look challenged at all.

          "Okay, take a break you two. Kikumaru, Momo, you guys are up!"

            "How do you like the club so far?" Fuji asked Aya as they made their way off the court.

            "It's great. You guys are amazing. I mean, you didn't miss a single shot just now."

            "Saa, there was no motivation," Fuji replied. Aya looked at the boy quizzically as he walked toward the water fountain. Aya headed in the other direction, towards a tree under which a certain first-year was lounging.

            "Your form is still mada mada dane," he said without looking up.

            'Gee, thanks Ryoma. I've missed you too,' she said sarcastically as she plopped down next to the younger boy.

            Ryoma gave no answer. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Aya couldn't take it anymore. 'Aren't you curious as to why I'm here?'

            "Not really."

            'Well, that's too bad. I'm going to tell you anyway. By the way, why are you keeping your history a secret to them anyway?'

            'No reason. It's not really any of their business.'

            'Fair enough. You know, it's really your fault I'm here.' No response. Aya continued. 'I came to Japan because I am going to represent it in the Junior Americas Cup.'

            Ryoma looked at her in surprise. Aya was one of the best players on the girls' circuit. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time she didn't make it to the finals in one of their tournaments. Before he left, she had just won three in a row. It was assumed that she would be the first seed for that tournament.

Aya looked off into space as she kept talking. 'Your leaving caused quite a stir with the association. It brought up a lot of racist sentiments. Something ridiculous about not being able to trust the foreigners' loyalties. When they were deciding on who to send in your place, they decided that I was not the image of American tennis that they wanted to portray, so they replaced me too. Officially, they said that my dual citizenship would cause problems. Unofficially, they thought I was going to leave the US and represent Japan. They said that my winning the last tournament didn't matter; it was the association's right to chose the delegates.' she spat that last part out vehemently. She turned to the boy. 'And you know what really gets me? Do you know whom they replaced me with? Kingston. Sarah Kingston who is ranked 5th on the circuit, whose best finish in 7 tournaments is the quarterfinals, who hasn't been able to win a single _game _from me. UGH!' She groaned in frustration.

Echizen simply kept quiet.

'Sorry, sorry about that. It's just that it is so STUPID! If they had replaced me with Davis or Miller or someone _good_… But no, apparently neither of _them _is the image of the future of American tennis. I guess they weren't blond enough.' She gave a huge sigh. 'But yeah, they thought we would just sit there and take it. Right, like we're really that well behaved. Too bad you missed it. Press conferences, threats of lawsuits, editorials, the works. The media was completely on our side. They issued a formal apology, and then they said that they would reevaluate the delegates to JAC.' Another breath. 'And then I did exactly what they thought I would, I came here. I don't want to play for them anymore, and what's more, I'm going to beat them at JAC.'

'… That's not my fault.'

'Hmm, it's not, I guess, but it got you to listen, didn't it?' She smiled at him. 'But it's your father's fault I'm at Seigaku. My mother found out you moved here and asked him for a school with a good tennis program. He told them here. You know, I haven't even met your father, but I think he thinks I'm a boy. They're in the nationals, but the girls' team's really not that great. They've just been really lucky. It's all about you guys.' She looked at the powerhouse Momo return a shot to Oishi. 'Oh well, too late now. My team's gotta do well at the next tournament for my sponsor to back my bid for the JAC spot.'

"Uhn," Ryoma made a sound of comprehension. Silence fell over them again.

'I wish we had this level of intensity.'

"We're in Japan. Why don't you speak in Japanese?"

"Fine, fine. Hey… Was that a not so subtle way of telling me to shut up? You know I'm not too comfortable with Japanese." 

            Ryoma made no comment, but took a drink from the can he had in his hand and then smirked.

            "You're so mean." 

"Hey ochibi-chan! It's your turn!"

            The two on the ground looked up to see Kikumaru and Momo approaching.

            "'Ochibi-chan'?" Aya looked at Echizen as he stood up; her lips curled up into a grin. She bounced up and patted the boy on his head. "That's a _great_ nickname for you. It fits so well! Have fun, _ochibi-chan!"_

            "Why are you calling me that? You're not that much taller than me," Ryoma said with a slight pout. It was a slightly sensitive subject for him because the girl was actually not more than a few months older than he was.

            "All the more reason to call you that while I still can. Look at you, you're growing faster than me. Pretty soon, you'll be taller, and I can't call you that anymore! Go Ryoma, your sempais are waiting for you." She grinned at him.

            "You better hurry Echizen. I hear that Inui-sempai is looking for a test subject for his new prototype…." Momo warned.

            Aya had never seen that look that was now gracing Ryoma's face. The color drained out of his face, and his eyes were bugged out of their sockets. "Ryoma, are you okay?" Aya asked, but the boy was long gone.

            She turned to the other boys, confused. "What's going on?"

            "You don't want to know," Momo said with a sweatdrop.

            "Don't worry about it!" Kikumaru added with a nervous chuckle.

            Aya looked at them unsatisfied, but they were quick to change the subject.

            "So Aya-kun, I haven't noticed you around. What class are you in?" Momo asked.

            "2-6. I only started coming to Seigaku three weeks ago."

            "Is that when you came over from America?"

            "Yup, I got here a week before that."

            "Is that how you know ochibi-chan?"

            "Yup."

            The trio began walking toward the courts.

            "Hey Aya-kun?"

            "Yes, Momoshiro-kun?"

            "Call me Momo-chan!" Momo said in his usual enthusiastic tone as he waved his hand.

            "Uh, okay, Momo-chan. What is it?"

            "I'm sorry about before."

            "Before, what before? Momo, what did you do?" Kikumaru interrupted.

            "Nothing, Kikumaru-sempai! It's just that…. Well, she's the person everyone's been talking about."

            "_You're_ the guy with the bun?" Kikumaru and demanded.

            "I guess," Aya answered uncertainly. 

            Kikumaru burst into laughter. "Momo! Can't you tell the difference between a boy and a girl?"

            "It's not that! It wasn't my fault! She was wearing baggy clothes and a cap and Arai thought she was a boy and she really looked a guy… and…" 

            Aya stopped walking and looked at the tall guy with spiky hair. "Are you saying I look like a boy?" she pouted.

            "That's not what I meant! It's just that you were wearing guys' clothes and you hat was covering your face and…" Well, it wasn't just the clothes. Her face was broad, and though her eyes were pretty large, she looked no more feminine than some first-year boys. Even in the girls' uniform, Aya had a very different build than that of most other girls. Her forearms were slender, but her shoulders were broad. Her upper arms and legs were muscular, but not overly so. What feminine curves she did have were well concealed underneath a slightly oversized top. In the middle, she curved into a waist that was thicker than most other girls'. Momo probably would have made the same mistake again, if it weren't for the fact that she was wearing a skirt and that her long hair was now down. "I just didn't know you were a girl."

            Deepening her pout, Aya let her head droop. She brought her hands up and buried her face in them.

            Of course, this sight brought the two boys into a state of terror.

"Oi, Momo, you idiot, look what you did!! You made her cry!"

            "Eeeehhh?? I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

            "Make her stop! Apologize like you mean it, or Oishi will think the two of us made her cry! He'll sacrifice us to Inui!"

            "I'm sorry!!!!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please stop crying. I am so sorry!!!!"

            The only response was an increase in the violence of the spasms that were taking over the hunched-over form.

            "Momo, Eiji."

            "Eeee!! Fuji-sempai! Uh… nothing's going on. We didn't do anything."

            "Fuji, help! Momo made her cry, and she won't stop!"

            Too bad Aya's face was buried in her hands. Otherwise, she would have gotten to see what she had been so anxious to see: Fuji with his eyes opened, looking serious. He was a little shocked. He had no problems watching or _making _boys cry; he found those rather amusing. But girls crying… it wasn't quite as fun; in fact, it was one of the few things that he found daunting. But… _Something isn't quite right, Fuji thought. He looked at the girl, and the smile reappeared on his face. __I see..._

"I take it back; you don't look like a boy! Please stop!" He stole a glance toward Inui. "Please…" Momo pleaded.

Aya couldn't control herself anymore. She clutched her stomach and let the laughter pour out. "You guys are so funny!" she said in between gasps for air.

            "What? You're not really crying?!"

            Aya shook her head.

"Aya! That was so mean!" Kikumaru yelled.

            "You scared me!" Momo joined in.

            "I'm sorry!" She stopped herself. "I didn't think you'd be so gullible! Come on now! You guys were so cute the way you got all freaked out!" The image of Momo and Kikumaru in a state of panic flashed in Aya's mind, and she couldn't contain herself anymore. "Bwahaaahaaahaaaa!!!"

            Fuji held back a chuckle, while Momo and Kikumaru glared at her.

            "It's not funny!"

            Aya took a deep breath and calmed down. "I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted a little payback for earlier… Forgive me?" She tried her best to whip up a puppy-dog look without bursting into laughter again.

            "You're so mean. You didn't have to trick me too!" Kikumaru whined.

            "I'm sorry."

            "Fine," both of the boys grudgingly said, but glared at her when she gave a small cough that sounded suspiciously like a giggle.

            Aya's face lit up in a huge mischievous grin that would make have Kikumaru proud, had he not been so worked up. "Really, I would never get that worked up over something as trivial as someone saying I look like a boy! I get that _a lot. Not all girls are that delicate. But usually most people don't care about me that much. You guys are such sweeties." She punched them on their arms._

            Momo blushed furiously and ran his hand through his hair, while looking down at the ground. Kikumaru gave a small "hehe" and a large grin. "Of course, we'll just have to find a way to pay you back for that little joke…."

            Aya gave a small smirk.

            Fuji smiled as well. _This will be very interesting indeed._

            Oishi looked at the four people walking toward the courts. He could see that they were smiling and laughing. It was a great relief to him to see that Aya was fitting in with the club. He had been really worried about how she would adjust to playing with them. A small smile was beginning to form on his face when a tennis ball sailed past his side.

            "Are we done, Oishi-sempai?" an impatient Ryoma said.

            "Huh? Ah, sorry, Echizen. Get ready. Here comes the next shot."

**A/N: Oishi is such the okaasan, ne? ^_^ Sorry for the venting… I'm a little peeved at certain aspects of the US right now.**

**Next chapter: Tennis time! Aya plays a match.**


	4. Chapter 4

**More Arai bashing… It's not that I don't like the guy, but he's such a jerk sometimes.**

**I apologize for the constant use of cliché plot lines, but I'm not really creative. -_-()**

**Also, I'm sorry if the tennis makes no sense. I have but a superficial knowledge of tennis.**

**I'll see if I could add more Kaidoh. Honestly, I'm not sure how to do it. He usually doesn't talk much unless he's mad, but I don't think he's the type to get into a fight with a girl. He's too traditional and sweet for that. ^_^**

**About JAC – I made that up, or at least I think I did, so if it was confusing, it was because I didn't bother to really plan it out. Sorry!**

**About the team finding about Ryoma's history – since they still haven't found out in either the manga or anime, I'm not planning to let them find out.**

_Thank you for the reviews!! _

**Text note: In Taka-san's dialog, italicized words are in English (Engrish).**

            This was just not Arai's day, was it? First he gets rejected by the girl he's been eyeing for a while. Then he has a huge scene with some punk-ass kid, and that kid that he had come so close to hitting turned out to be a girl. Then the worst thing of all: everyone knew and was talking about it. No, it really wasn't Arai's day.

            Well, of course Arai had to apologize. He couldn't let the regulars think that he was such a bad guy that he'd pick on a girl. Luckily, Aya was right there, watching the practice with Kikumaru, Momo, Fuji, and Kawamura.

            "Aya-kun?"

            Aya turned around to face the boy that had threatened her not more than a couple of hours ago. Being the perfect _tactful gentlemen they were, the regulars all turned around to listen in._

            "Yes?" Aya said cautiously as she folded her arms in front of her. Momo she was willing to forgive, but this guy... she was still a little peeved about what had happened earlier that day.

            "Uh… Sorry for my behavior before," Arai muttered quickly.

            "Okay," she said with no change in her expression.

            Arai's eyebrow twitched. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't really expect this reaction. _What is with that attitude? His temper got the better of him, and he said through gritted teeth, "That's it? You don't have anything to say about your behavior?"_

            Aya raised an eyebrow at him. "_My behavior?"_

            "Yes. I wouldn't have gotten so angry at you if you hadn't been so rude!"

            "_I_ was being rude?"

            "Yes! You should have just answered me when I asked you who you were! Instead you acted like a punk!"

            "You just came up to me and started yelling! How was I supposed to act?"

            Arai started to say something, but held himself. He was here to apologize, not create another scene. "Look, I'm not here to pick a fight. I just wanted to apologize."

            "Fine, apology accepted." She turned back around.

            Arai knew it looked bad; he couldn't let it end like that. He took a deep breath. He needed to do this; if he makes it onto the team, he can't be on the regulars' bad sides.

            "You played pretty well," Arai dug. "For a girl, I mean."

            Aya turned around slowly to face the boy and took a step forward. "'For a girl'? What do you mean '_for a girl'?"_

            For any normal person, her tone of voice would have brought to mind big flashing caution signs and loud, annoying alarms. Arai, however, wasn't exactly normal, so he snickered. "Well, you know, you're a girl."

            "Naw, really, genius. Did you just realize that?" She paused; her brows knitted. "Oh wait, you did." She gave a sight shake of her head. "So, I'm a girl, and?"

            "Oh, come on. We all know that boys are more athletic than girls. It's nature."

            Aya huffed out a laugh. "Oh really? We all know that, do we?"

            "Shouldn't we stop this?" Taka-san whispered to Fuji.

            "Maa, not yet."

            "You just want to see what happens, don't you?" Kikumaru asked his classmate.

            Fuji turned to him and flashed him a smile.

            Momo stayed out of the exchange between his sempais, but he had to admit to himself, he _was curious too._

            Aya paid no attention to the chatter behind her. "You think that just because I'm a girl and you're a boy, you're automatically better than me?"

            "Che, that goes without being said."

            "I hate it when people tell me I have to be a certain way because I'm a girl. I get enough of that at home; I'm not going to take it at school," she said in a near-growl. "I'll give you a chance to put your money where your mouth is."

            "You're kidding, right? I'm not going to play a girl."

            "Scared you can't live up to your boasts?" Aya took the hair elastic from her wrist and tied her hair up. "Does this help?" She walked over to her tennis bag and took out her hat. Tucking in every loose strand of hair, she turned back to Arai. "You thought I was a boy, right?"

            "See! I told you she looked like a boy," Momo whispered to Kikumaru.

            "Shhh, Momo!" the redhead retorted. "This is getting good!"

            "You are not serious," Arai said incredulously.

            "I am completely serious."

            "Ara, Aya-kun" Taka-san interjected nervously. "There's no need to make such a big deal out of this. I'm sure he didn't mean it that way."

            "Here, Taka-san," Eiji grinned as he handed the taller boy the nearest tennis racket.

            "AHHHHH, I'm _BUUUUURRRRRRNNNNNIIINNNNGGGG!!! _Very, very BURNING_!!"_

            'What the hell?' Aya took a step back and stared wide-eyed at the boy spewing out a lot of nonsensical English.

            "You!!!" Taka-san pointed the racket at Arai. "Are you backing down from a challenge? You scared that a girl will beat you?!? Are you a coward?? _FIGHT_!"

"Damn it," Arai muttered under his breath.

Still in his burning mode, Taka-san put his arm around Aya's shoulders. "Hora, hora, _GIRLIE, you're going to let him insult you like that, are you?!?? KICK HIS ASS!!!!!"_

            Aya pulled away slightly from the boy who was emitting a strange aura. "Um, sure," she said nervously, looking at him suspiciously.

            "_YEAH_, _BABYYYYYYYY_!!!!!"

            _Oh lord, what's going on over there?_ Oishi sighed. He was tempted to look over at the commotion, but he can't afford to lose his attention when it comes to Echizen – he'll probably end up getting hit in the face. _I'll deal with them later._

            The free regulars, Arai's friends, and the first-years gathered around the court to watch. 

"Rough or smooth?"

            "I'll just let you serve. Don't want people to say that I was picking on you."

            "Oh, you are so kind," Aya replied, rolling her eyes.

Several minutes later….

            "It looks bad for Aya-sempai," Katsuo remarked as another of Arai's shots hit just beyond Aya's reach.

            "Game, Arai. Three games to none! Change court!"

            "Why don't you just give up now?" Arai grin smugly.

"She doesn't stand a chance," Horio proclaimed to the others. "Arai-sempai is too strong for her. It's over."

            "Mada mada dane."

            "Ryoma-kun!" Kachiro exclaimed. "What do you mean?" he asked the figure who had already arrived at his usual tree.

            "It means you shouldn't count her out yet."

            "Inui-sempai!" the three shouted in unison to the tall figure who had suddenly appeared behind them. "What do you mean?"

            Inui opened up his notebook and adjusted his glasses. "Elizabeth Ayazumi Tsuyoshi, second year, right-handed. She became a regular on the girls' team only ten days after enrolling in Seigaku, replacing a third-year regular. Singles 2 in her first match for the team, she won 6-0. She is now considered the girls' team's number 1, after beating their captain twice."

            "Amazing, as expected from Inui-sempai!" one of the first-years cried out.

            "Inui-sempai, I didn't know you collected data on the girls' team," Momo said.

            "I don't."

            "Then how did you find out that information?"

            "Ahhh," Inui pointed to a redhead with pigtails standing several feet away.

            Kaidoh sulked past the commotion. That idiot Arai was actually gloating about beating a girl. _How pathetic, and he calls himself a man? "Che." He leaned against a tree, folded his arms, and pretended not to watch._

            "Our girl's in trouble. You think she can pull it out?" Kikumaru asked no one in particular.

            In lieu of a response, Fuji's smile deepened.__

"What's going on here?" Oishi asked as he stepped up next to the line of regulars.

            Taka-san quickly caught him up to the events that led to the current situation.

            "And you guys are just standing here watching? Why didn't you guys prevent this from happening?!" Oishi said. "I have to stop this before any more damage is done."

            "No, let it continue. She's not going to be satisfied to have the game end now. Besides, we should see how well she plays," Ryusaki-sensei responded from behind him. She was glad she just happened to be passing by at the right moment. She had heard about this "catch" from Kuroko-sensei, and she wanted to see her in action herself. Besides, not that she'd say it out loud, but, as someone who's heard "you're a girl" a few too many times, she was rooting for the girl. "You worry too much, Oishi."

            Kikumaru coughed; the cough sounded suspiciously like "okaasan". It was followed by Momo and Fuji clasping their hands over their mouths, trying to hide their giggling. Even Taka-san and Ryusaki-sensei was smiling strangely as they tried to retain their composure. Oishi glared at his partner, who shot him a huge sheepish grin. Looking at that face, how could Oishi, or anyone for that matter, _not forgive him? He let out a long sigh._

            Aya fingered the strings on her racket. "You know," she began. "You have a long reach. I've gotten too used to playing people with short reaches." She looked at him. "But that's okay, because your technique is sloppy."

A few shots later, "Game, Tsuyoshi. One game to three!"

"She broke Arai-sempai's serve!"

Several shots more, "Game, Tsuyoshi. Two games to three!"

Then, "Game, Tsuyoshi. Three games all!"

"She's caught up!"

--------------------------

"Five games to three, Tsuyoshi service game."

Arai returned her serve. Even though he hated to, he had to admit that it was not looking good for him. Her shots were faster and harder than they were in the beginning, and more balls were hit to his bad side.

Aya returned his return with a shot straight down the line opposite from him. He never had a chance of reaching it.

"40-30!"

"She's at match point! All she needs to do is win this point!"

Aya bounced the ball as she got ready to serve.

"Watch, her skirt rides way up when she serves. Too bad she's wearing those shorts," said an unabashedly loud boy standing at the side of the court.

"Her legs are nice," chuckled his companion.

Aya's eye twitched. _Maybe Arai's not the most annoying person in the club…_

"They're okay, but the rest of her is…" and then in a mocking tone "'_mada mada dane'." The boys laughed raucously. The two screamed and fell backwards when they were caught unawares by the tennis ball that flew towards them. They stared in horror at the ball caught in the metal fence._

She glared at them with narrowed eyes. "Oops," she said, the words dripping with insincerity. 

"Fault!"

"She just threw away the first serve at match point!" came from a random voice in the crowd that had gathered to watch.

"Yare, yare, our girl's got quite a temper," Kikumaru remarked.

Fuji chuckled.

"This is getting boring," Aya said as she threw the ball up into the air. Jumping up, she smashed it just right into the inside corner, sending it flying past Arai, who, in anticipation of a safe, shallow serve, was standing far inside the baseline, towards the outside.

"Game, Tsuyoshi."

"A no-touch ace!" Kachiro cried.

"That was one lucky shot…" Horio said. "Right?"

"Ah, no," Inui answered. "It was a risky move though. That type of serve has a 73% rate of faulting. It must be hit with a high speed and pinpoint precision. Two and a half centimeters to either the side or the back, and she would have double-faulted. To risk going to deuce, she must have been very confident."

"It was a lucky shot," Aya smirked at them as she walked towards the net. When she arrived, without an expression on her face, she held out her hand to the figure who still had yet to budge.

Arai just stared for a second before he grudgingly followed suit and grunted as he took her outstretched hand. _Have to be gracious, have to be gracious. Damn, I lost to a girl?! I lost 6 games in a row?? What kind of idiot goes for a second serve like that? And how the hell did she hit that shot anyway?!? Must be gracious. Deep breaths, everyone is watching. Must be good sport._

The two made their way off the court. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Aya wasn't quite satisfied. It was a win; a sloppy game, maybe, but it was still a win. Something was bothering her.

"Tsuyoshi! Arai!"

Aya cringed at the stinging yell. As the rest of the club looked on, she and Arai turned to face an uncharacteristically angry acting-captain.

He glared at them. "What you two did was against the rules," he stated. _I will not tolerate those who break the rules. Oishi would have never thought it possible, but he was itching to use Tezuka's line on them. However, he didn't. He sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Since this is your first day, Tsuyoshi, I will be lenient. Make sure this never happens again!"_

"Hai," Arai said with a small bow. _That was lucky…_

"Oishi-sempai," Aya started. "The punishment you would have given… what was it?"

"Why?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

She just looked at him.

Oishi looked in surprise at her expectant face. His brows knitted as he fished for a suitable sentence. "Fine, 20 laps around the courts."

She nodded and began, whispering a small "Thanks" as she jogged past him.

"You too, Arai." _Tezuka would make everyone else run too._

"But-"

"Would you rather do 25?" _But I'm not Tezuka._

Arai gritted his teeth and starting running. _Damned idiot. What the hell did she do that for?_

Aya looked at Arai wheezing, out of breath, as the two ran out their punishment. Now she was satisfied.

"Oishi-sempai?" a voice called as Oishi walked out of the locker room.

"Huh? Oh, Aya-kun. What's the matter?"

"Uh, I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I'm sorry I lost my temper and --"

"It's okay," Oishi interrupted. "I'm sorry that some of our members are giving you such a hard time. They're really not that bad. They're just not used to having a girl around."

"'Hard time'?" Aya laughed. "No, today was fun. I already feel more like a part of this team than my own team. Now _that_'s a hard time."

This perplexed Oishi, "Huh?"

"Ahh, it's nothing," she said evasively. "Again, I'm sorry. I really do appreciate the chance to play with you guys." She turned to leave.

"Aya-kun!" Aya turned around. "Don't let it happen again."

A smile crept over Aya's face. "Sure thing. Goodbye… MINNA-SAN."

Oishi spun around to find that Echizen, Fuji, Momo, and Kikumaru had been listening behind him, the latter two with the most obnoxious grins ever plastered on their faces. Even Echizen seemed to be wearing a smirk. Only Fuji looked normal, but, of course, that meant smiling and unreadable.

            "What?" Oishi with beads of sweat formed on his head as the two leered at him, a blush developing on his face.

            "Oishi," Kikumaru said in a matter-of-fact voice, "it's nothing to be embarrassed about! I mean, you are at the time where you'll start noticing girls…"

            Momo chimed in, "Ahh, to be young again."

            "Momo, I'm older than you."

            "Oh right," Momo brought his hand up to the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

            Kikumaru wrapped his arm around his partner's neck, then let himself hang from his arm. "It's okay, Oishi, you can admit it. We're all friends here."

_My head, it hurts. _"Eiji…" Oishi said softly, causing the redhead to look up at him. "Will you two stop being so immature?" Oishi almost yelled, earning another of Eiji's pouts. "I was just talking to her!"

"Suuuuuuure…."__

The situation seemed to be heading beyond amusing into downright dangerous. Oishi was reaching his boiling point. The vein in the forehead of normally calm, calculating half of the Golden Pair looked as though it were about to pop. "She is an _intriguing _person," Fuji interjected.

"Heh?" Kikumaru and Momo's attentions turned to the tensai. Kikumaru pried himself off of his doubles partner to move closer to his classmate.

"_You're interested in Aya, Fuji-sempai?" Momo asked incredulously._

"Interested?" Fuji said innocently.

Oishi looked at the smiling boy, glad that the attention was off of him. He needed this second to calm down. _Thanks Fuji_.

"This looks bad, Momo. This is turning into a love triangle," Eiji whispered to his partner-in-crime.

"Hmm," came a female voice behind them, catching them off guard.

The two boys spun around. "Aya! How long have you been standing back there?"

Not answering them, the girl positioned herself in the middle of the group. Looking at the two rascals of the team, she asked, "Whom do I make a cuter couple with? Fuji-sempai?" She linked arms with the smiling Fuji. "Or Oishi-sempai?" Still connected to Fuji, she then swayed towards Oishi and linked up with him, causing a deep blush to spread on his face.

"Fuji," Kikumaru blurted out immediately. _Oops_.

Momo looked over at Eiji for a moment. _That's strange_, he thought. He was sure that Kikumaru would name his partner. Fuji was not as fun to tease as Oishi was. Fuji seemed to take everything in stride, smiling off things that could cause even fluster the ever-levelheaded Tezuka. Plus, he could be downright scary sometimes. Picking him pretty much just killed the fun.

"Really, I think she looks better with Oishi-sempai…" Momo said.

"You're right, Momo. Oishi and Aya do look cute together. But Oishi, you could lose your girlfriend to Fuji if you don't declare your true feelings." Kikumaru waved his finger at Oishi.

"Eiji!"

"It's okay, Oishi-sempai. We have no need for words," she said dramatically.

"Aya!"

She lowered her head and started giggling. Hearing the redhead and boy with spiky hair laughing, she looked back up and stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Kikumaru asked, then turned to trace her line of sight. At the end, he caught sight of three girls staring at them and whispering to each other. Their malicious expressions disappeared when they saw that the boys were looking at them. The group of tennis players could hear their squealing as they walked away.

Aya unhooked herself from the two boys. "Oh great, just what I need. Another group of girls wishing for my death," she muttered.

"Huh?!?" three of the boys exclaimed.

Aya smiled at them. "Nevermind. It's not important. I should get going now." She started to walk off.

"Did you forget something, Aya-kun?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! You guys are such bad influences; I almost forgot why I came back in the first place. Thanks for reminding me, Fuji-sempai." Aya turned to the first-year in the cap. "Ryoma, my mother told me to ask you to tell your mother that she said 'hi', and that she hopes they can get together when she comes to visit."

"_Usu."_

**A/N:  Um, I'm not sure I spelled the last word right. It's supposed to be the word that Kabaji always answers Atobe with.**

**XD I'm not pairing her up with Oishi (I haven't really decided if she is going to be paired up at all). I just wanted to have Kikumaru tease Oishi again. ^_^**

**Next chapter: First run-in with Inui's juice XD.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Standard disclaimer: As much as I grovel, Konomi-sensei will still not give me Prince of Tennis. :-( I'm just borrowing them for my non-profit causes.**

**Actually, thank you for the suggestions of putting in Kaidoh because that gave me an idea.**

**If you're wondering, the "prince" is loosely based on Fruits Basket's Yuki, and the exercise is meant to be confusing and strange. I will also try to move back into the PoT characters, but I needed to set something up.**

**Thank you for reviewing!!!**

Aya walked towards the court with her tennis bag slung over her shoulder. She had changed quickly to get away from the chatter of her teammates in the locker room, so she arrived at the courts early. The only people there were two groups second- and third-years. Those wearing blue were standing with Arai, while those in green were standing with those two jerks from the day before. None of them were people she wanted to talk to.

This was not an auspicious beginning to the day's practice.

"Hsss…"

The hiss caused Aya to jump slightly as she passed a bush. Half-expecting a rattlesnake, she turned around to find a bandanna-sporting regular sitting cross-legged in the shade of the bush.

"Ah, Kaidoh-" she hesitated, "-kun… wait, no, Kaidoh-san? Kaidoh-semp… no, that's definitely not it. Or is it Kaidoh-ch-…"

"Just call me Kaidoh!" Kaidoh grunted impatiently.

"Ah, sorry, Kaidoh. I'm still having trouble with my honorifics," Aya said sheepishly. "I know what to say to people older and younger, but not people who are the same age as me."

Kaidoh's surly expression did not change. He didn't know how to respond to that. For a moment, it looked like the two second-years were having a staring contest.

"Okay…" Aya said slowly after a minute. "It's been nice talking to you then, Kaidoh." She turned around to leave.

"Don't think we are all as pathetic as that weakling Arai."

Aya turned around and smirked at the boy. "I would _never think that about you. Not after that incredible match you and Inui-sempai had against, what was the name of that school? Oh right, Hyoutei."_

Kaidoh eyes widened in surprise; he didn't know that she had been at that game. But he said nothing, so Aya continued.

"That shot of yours, what was it? Oh right, 'Boomerang snake', that was impressive, and that unique variation on the Buggy Whip Shot…"

_How does she know all of this? Has she been collecting our data?_ Kaidoh wondered nervously. _Great, another person like _him_._

_Still no response. Okay, I guess I should keep talking._ "I guess I was really lucky. I never expected such an exciting match-up my first weekend here, really, Seigaku versus Hyoutei. Too bad we lost that set, but it was great tennis."

Kaidoh had to grunt in agreement.

"Hey Aya, you should be careful about flirting with the _mamushi," Momo called out as he walked past them heading toward the locker room._

Kaidoh felt the blood rush to his face as a deep, dark blush set in. He jumped to his feet. "What did you say, you stupid powerhouse?" he growled at the boy with the violet eyes.

Momo got into Kaidoh's face. "I was warning her about you. You got a problem with that, _ma-mu-shi_?" he enunciated each syllable in that last word slowly and clearly.

"You…" Growling, the two suddenly grabbed each others' shirts.

Aya watched this display of testosterone in silence. Part of her wanted to stop them, but a bigger, more vocal part of her was highly amused. The amused part won out, and she did nothing.

The two boys kept growling.

"Kaidoh, Momoshiro, cut it out!"

The two released each other and looked at the source of the voice.

"Momoshiro, hurry and go change," Ryusaki-sensei's cutting voice commanded.

Momo grudgingly obeyed and headed toward the locker room. Kaidoh sulked back to his spot near the bush and sat back down.

Ryusaki-sensei sighed. "Those boys… they'll never change."

Aya looked at her with raised eyebrows.

-----------------------------------

            After the warm-up run (no Inui juice this time, Inui told them, he had a surprise for later), the regulars gathered for their drill. It was a strange little exercise cooked up by the ever-innovative data man.

The regulars with Aya were divided up into two groups of four, with Inui being the odd man out. One group occupied court A while the other used court B. Each player was set in a different quadrant of the court and had to cover the entirety of their own quadrant. It was not team play though; no one was allowed to step outside their own space. The point of the drill was to keep up a volley by hitting the ball to the correct person when it landed inside your court. The difficulty came in that the name of a person would not be yelled out until the ball landed into your court, giving a second's notice for you to hit the ball in the right direction. Furthermore, regardless of the name called, if the ball bounced into your space, you must return it. According to Inui, it would help the players better direct their hits and improve their ability to read the movements of the person sharing a court with them.

Inui then held up a white plastic water bottle. The punishment for hitting the ball to the wrong person or missing a shot that lands in your court was, to the horror of the regulars (except, of course, Fuji) and the puzzlement of Aya, Inui's newest upgraded version of his "Penal-tea".

_"Penalty"? I wonder what he means by that_, Aya pondered.

Unlike the lax atmosphere of the day before, this day the air was thick with fear-induced determination.

Ryusaki-sensei was the name-caller for the group of court A, with Kaidoh and Oishi on one side of the net and Kawamura and Kikumaru on the other. On court B, Inui called out the names to Aya and Echizen, who were opposite Fuji and Momo. The drill designed to work on their reflexes and reaction times soon morphed into game of dodge-ball when Momo and Aya began losing the concentration due to the screaming that was coming from off the courts.

"Ryoma-sama _suteki_! _Ganbatte, Ryoma-SAMA!" Ryoma hit the ball to the intended target Fuji._

"Oh my goodness," Aya cringed. "What is that sound?"

"That's Echizen's fan club, the damned brat," Momo answered.

"Tsuyoshi," Inui commanded.

"Jealous, Momo?" Fuji asked, easily returning the ball to Aya.

A slight blush spread across Momo's face. "No!"

"Momo."

"Ryoma-SAMA!"

Aya jumped slightly at the voice, but managed to hit the shot to the second-year boy. Unfortunately, the distracted girl sent the ball flying toward Momo's face. Fortunately, he was able to jump out of the way and position himself to hit the ball.

"Ryoma-sama! Ryoma-sama!"

"Tsuyoshi."

Momo could not hear the low voice of Inui over the shrill cries of Tomoko, so he hit the ball toward Echizen. However, having lost his concentration, his aim was off, and it landed just inside the line, on Aya's court. She was completely caught off guard and missed the ball.

'Dammit,' she muttered as she bent down to pick up the ball. When she was back upright, Aya felt a presence behind her. She turned around slowly to find Inui, eyeglasses aglow, holding out to her a glass. Aya looked at the liquid inside the glass: its color was an ungodly mixture of swirly purples and browns, and under the head of foam, there was a mass of bubbles. A strange aroma emanated from the offered cup.

Aya gulped. _So _that's _why everyone had had that look on their faces. She reached out and took the cup from her sempai. _

"What's _in _this?" she asked as she peered into the cup.

"Food," Inui replied, grinning.

Aya looked at the spiky-haired boy. Somehow, she did not find that assuring. She stared into the cup again, hoping the bubbles would settle down. When it didn't, she looked up at the others with uncertainty.

No one in Oishi's group seemed to notice that the ball had now settled at the net. Every set of eyes on courts A and B had turned to the girls' regular. Aya could see the sympathetic looks on Kawamura and Oishi's faces and the sheer horror that occupied Kikumaru, Momo, Kaidoh, and even Echizen's faces. Even Ryusaki-sensei was looking a little distressed. Fuji, of course, was smiling, looking on with morbid curiosity.

_Can't be that bad, right?_ _Just ignore the smell._ Aya took a deep breath before throwing her head back and chugging the entire cup.

It seemed like an eternity passed before she lowered the cup from her lips. Her head was still thrown back, so the others could not see her expression.

Then she chuckled.

The chuckles then grew into full-blown laughter.

_Oh no, she's gone mad_, Oishi panicked.

_What kind of monster is she?!_ Kaidoh thought.

_She's worse than Fuji!_ Kikumaru sweatdropped.

Still laughing, she lowered her head so that she could look at them. Everyone (to her great surprise, including Fuji) looked at her wide-eyed.

"Oh, my god," she started, laughing. "That was the **nastiest, most foul-tasting thing I've had in a ****long time!! Ugh! So _this is the secret behind the Seigaku boys' team's strength! No wonder you guys always run like crazy!" Sticking her tongue out, she made a silly face. "Ugh! It's almost as bad as the health shakes my coach back home used to make me drink!"_**

Inui's eyebrow twitched._ "Almost"?_ Inui thought.****

"Ooh," Aya winced as the aftertaste surfaced. "I need water." She handed the cup back to Inui before running to retrieve her water bottle and taking several long swigs from it, making faces in between each mouthful. Inui set the cup down and immediately delved into his notebook with his newly found data.

Everyone except Fuji let out a sigh of relief. So she's normal… or at least _somewhat normal._

As for Fuji, the tensai stared at the girl who was shaking her water bottle, trying to dump the last few drops of liquid onto her tongue. He chuckled. That was the most different reaction he had seen yet.

The regulars snapped back into reality when Ryusaki-sensei's voice boomed out: "All right, whose ball was this?" She pointed to the ball resting at the net. "If no one takes responsibility, everyone will have to drink."__

A collective gulp arose from Court A.

A few minutes later…

"GO, GO, RYOMA-SAMA!"

"Ugh! I can't take it anymore!" Aya groaned. "Ryoma, will you _please shut your little girlfriend up?" She hit the ball to Fuji._

"She's not my girlfriend," Ryoma told her in his normal apathetic voice.

"Echizen," Inui instructed.

"Fine, fan club member, lover, stalker, or whoever the hell she is, please just get her to _shut up_!"

The ball lands in Echizen's court.

"Momo."

"Do it yourself," the first-year told the girl as he sent the ball hard toward his sempai.

"Brat."

"Echizen," Inui said as the ball bounced high up.

The powerhouse jumped in anticipation of smashing the ball.

"There it is, Dunk Smash!" the freshmen trio shouted.

"Momo-chan-sempai _suteki_!" Tomoko screeched.

Between the bickering and these last outbursts, Momo lost all his concentration and forgot to aim. He had sent the ball flying spectacularly out of bounds.

"Out!"

Momo's eyes widened in fear. Inui held out a cup to the sweating boy.

Momo started to take his punishment. When he had drained the contents of the cup, both he and the cup fell to the ground.

"Momo!" Oishi, Eiji, Taka, and Fuji yelled out in concern.

"Don't lose your concentration!" Ryusaki-sensei reprimanded the three boys in her court.

Fuji and Aya walked cautiously to the fallen boy's side while Echizen looked on. Inui immediately took out his notebook.

Aya poked at the limp body. "We should get him off the court, no?" she asked the tensai, who was kneeling beside her.

 "Uhn," Fuji agreed. The brown-haired boy went to grab Momo under his arms, while Aya grabbed his feet. The two didn't stand a chance under the powerhouse's weight.

"Hey Ryoma, come over here and help. Your sempai's heavy!"

"You're not allowed to call Ryoma-sama by his first name!" a voice screeched, startling Aya and causing her to drop Momo's feet.

"What?" she looked at the two redheads.

The one with shorter hair replied, "I said I won't permit you to speak to Ryoma-sama so personally! No one is allowed to be so friendly with Ryoma-sama without my permission!"

"Tomo-chan…" Sakuno whispered as tugged on her friend's sleeve. The other redhead paid her no attention.

"And just who _are _you?"

"His fan club president, of course!" Tomo-chan replied proudly.

"Huh," Aya said most amusedly. She glanced over at Fuji, on whose feet Momo's head was now resting. Aya could tell from his smiley expression that he shared her amusement. "His fan club president?"

"That's right! And anyone who wants to be close to Ryoma-sama has to go through me!" She beamed a smile at Echizen, who was now lightly kicking his fallen sempai's body.

"Is that right?" Aya smirked. She walked over to the first-year. "You mean like this?" She put her arm around the short boys' shoulders. Her smirk grew when a growl escaped from Tomo-chan. She leaned towards the boy and said in a low voice to him in English, 'Sorry, but I really can't stand any more of her blabbering. You don't mind, do you?'

"_Betsuni_," Ryoma answered, his hat still covering his face.

'Do you think this'll shut her up?' Aya gestured to a fuming Tomo-chan. 'Because if I have to drink one more cup of that juice because of her, I'll kill her,' she said while smiling sweetly. "I'm serious. I'll kill her."

Ryoma smirked. 'Only low-level players would get so easily distracted by people not on the court.'

'Brat.' Still smiling, Aya put more of her weight onto Ryoma's shoulder, causing him to slump down a little and wince.

Sakuno looked on with a worried expression. She stared at the two Americans and blushed. It bothered her that this other girl had such familiarity with Ryoma, and a small, unnoticed whine escaped as she thought about their physical closeness. She didn't know what the two were saying, but from her sempais in the tennis club, Sakuno knew that the older girl liked to provoke people and could be scary when provoked herself. She herself, however, had never witnessed that side of Aya before. To her, the older girl had always acted civil, if aloof.

"Get your hands off of him!" Tomo-chan screamed.

Neither Ryoma nor Aya acted like they heard the loud redhead. 'Hey Ryoma, you said this one's not your girlfriend, right? What about the quiet one?'

Ryoma shifter his weight slightly; Aya could feel him tense underneath her.

'Was that a "yes"?' She grinned.

"No!" the shorter form responded emphatically.

'Really?' Aya looked at the girl with pigtails who was now holding back the louder girl. She knew the girl from club and thought she was a nice enough person. _Nice… but ditzy. Definitely ditzy. 'Well, I think she has a thing for you. She's been blushing ever since I touched you.'_

Aya removed her arm from Ryoma and switched back into Japanese mode. "Sorry for that little diversion, Fuji-sempai. Ne, let's move Momo-chan off the floor before your feet fall asleep."

-------------------------------------------

            "So after Momo-chan fainted, we had a little break until Taka-san missed a shot and had to drink the penal-tea. And then he fainted too!" Aya stopped. She leaned the barrier on the bridge and looked at the water underneath.

            "Is the drink really that bad?"

            "Yes! It's disgusting!" Aya grimaced at the thought. "But the _scariest _thing was when we started doing individual exercises, and Fuji-sempai missed a really easy shot, which, by the way, I think he did on purpose. He drank a cup, and actually said it was _delicious_. It was so _creepy_, the way he was smiling when he said that!" Aya shuddered.

            "I heard that he really a ruthless person despite the smile."

            "Hmm… I would think that of all people, you'd know better than to judge someone by what other people say, _prince." She returned his glare with a smile. "He's an interesting one, though. I'd love to know what he's really like underneath that smile."_

            The two stood in silence for a moment, listening to a rhythmic splashing of the water that was coming from below the bridge.

Aya sighed before picking up the conversation again. "So… I managed to piss off yet another fan club today."

"What happened this time?" the "prince" of the second-year class asked.

"Well, apparently Ryoma, the boy I know from the states, has his own fan club here. The president of Ryoma's fan club didn't like that I was friends with Ryoma. She was an annoying little imp, so I did some things to piss her off."

"Like what?" the boy asked her.

She told him. "Stupid, huh? Now I kind of wish I hadn't."

"Why? I thought you didn't care about the fan clubs."

"I don't," Aya shrugged. "It's just that my brothers bet me that I wouldn't be able to make a single female friend this year, and pissing the girls off like this really doesn't help the cause."

"And the fan club members are people you really want to be friends with?"

"No."

"Then don't worry about them! You don't need them. What's wrong with your guy friends? How many fan clubs are after you now? Three?" he started counting. "Ryoma's, Oishi-sempai's, and …" he let his words trail off.

"Yours," she finished for him.

"Right, mine," he said uncomfortably.

Aya sighed. "I guess I should be content. But you'd think from the way people are acting, that guys and girls can't simply be just friends." She took another deep breath. "But you know… the types of people in the fan clubs really say a lot about the person they're after."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Ryoma's fan club president is snarky, bratty, and doesn't really show any respect to anyone. Oishi-sempai's fan club is nicer. There are a few crazy, angry ones, but most of them just came up to me and pumped me for information on him or asked me to introduce them or get an autograph. Their fan clubs sort of fit their personalities."

"I'm afraid to ask, but what does mine say about me?"

"Well, considering that your fan club likes to leave little death threats in my locker, I'd say you're a homicidal psychopath and I shouldn't be friends with you anymore."

"Why do you still hang out with me then?" he said, attempting to sound hurt.

"Convenience, of course!" Aya replied brightly. "I mean, come on, we're in different classes! If you didn't live right across the street, we wouldn't have never met, and I wouldn't be standing here with you right now."

"…"

"I'm joking, you know that right?" Aya smiled at him. She grabbed his arm. "Come on, we should get going. My aunt's expecting me home soon."

Aya dragged the boy toward the direction of their neighborhood.

Suddenly, she stopped. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I-- I thought I just heard someone say the word 'data'."

"I didn't hear anything. You must be hearing things."

Her brows furrowed. "I guess Inui-sempai's got me all paranoid. You know, he's already devised a menu and exercise routine for me. It's not bad for one day's observations. It's almost as intense as the one I've been following at the advice of my coach back home." She paused. "Hey, did you notice? The splashing's stopped, too. Bizarre. Oh well, let's go."

------------------------------------

Kaidoh was practicing in the stream as normal. Inui arrived not long after he started. He was practicing his swing with the towel in the water when two people started talking loudly on the bridge above. He simply continued, but it soon became clear that one of the speakers was the girls' regular, and their topic of conversation was the team.

Inui immediately stopped his exercise and picked up his notebook. Kaidoh hissed slightly and continued swinging. He was not going to be so despicable as to eavesdrop.

The two above finished and walked off. Or so he thought. Inui adjusted his glasses and said, "Ah, iie data."

And she heard.

Kaidoh's eyes widened and threw his sempai a look. Inui was too busy collecting his data to notice.

Luckily, her companion convinced her otherwise, and she started talking again.

Kaidoh resisted smirking at his sempai when he caught Inui's eyebrow twitch at the new data.

_"Almost"?_

Kaidoh held his breath until he heard them walk off, "Che" he muttered as he continued working on his swing.

**Next chapter: I don't quite know yet. .**


	6. Chapter 6

**Standard disclaimer: Tennis no Ohjisama belongs to Konomi-sensei, not me.**

**For anyone who doesn't know, Yumiko is Fuji's sister, and Sasabe is the guy from the first episode of the show. His family has an encounter with the Seigaku tennis club in the OAV where they get humiliated by the team.**

**Thank you to those who are still reviewing. ^__^**

**Some strong language. I know the insults in the Sasabe scene aren't really insulting. I'm sorry! I guess I wouldn't make a good bully. ^^()**

"Thank you for today!" Everyone dispersed, getting ready to go home and relax on their day off after a hard practice.

The week had passed without much more major commotion. Aya had begun to wear her normal, baggy warm-ups to practice instead of the girls' uniform. She felt more at ease with the change, and the pants allowed her to blend in better with the boys' team. The majority of the members in the boys' tennis club had come to terms with the presence of the girl. Those who did not like the girl kept their feelings to themselves after that little outburst during her match with Arai. Even Arai was beginning to gain a grudging respect for the girls' skills. Not since her encounter with Inui's Penal-tea had the girl made another mistake during practice.

Aya changed quickly and headed for her aunt's house, her home for her stay in Japan. Just as she was approaching the entrance of the school, she caught sight of a group of about six girls from her class, girls whom she recognized as members of the prince's and Oishi's fan clubs. They seemed to be arguing amongst themselves, but stopped when they saw her.

_Just wonderful_, she thought as she walked by them.

Just when she thought she was going to get away without a confrontation, one of the girls called out to her.

In an instant, they had formed a circle around her.

"Elizabeth Ayazumi Tsuyoshi," one of the girls spat at her. "Why are you going after Oishi-sempai if you're already with the prince, slut?"

Aya rolled her eyes. There were so many things wrong with what she just said that Aya wondered if it was worth it to correct her.

"Just leave our prince alone if you're with someone else," one girl pleaded.

"How could you two-time our prince like that?!" a girl, looking like she was on the verge of tears, yelled.

"Oishi-sempai deserves better than you!"

"I heard that she's after the first-year regular too!"

"Who do you think you are, Coming here and trying to steal all the boys?"

"You can't have them both. Which one do you want? Answer us!"

"We ought to kick your ass for being so heartless, bitch!" the biggest one sneered.

Aya faced the one who just spoke. "Yeah? Go ahead." Aya smirked at her. _He's right; why should I care about people like them? She took off her tennis bag and placed it on the ground. Her patience having run out, she would have been more than happy to show them exactly why she was not scared of them._

The taller one reached out and grabbed the shorter girl by her shirt. The taller girl pulled her arm back in anticipation of throwing a punch into Aya.

Fuji watched as the group of girls surrounded the female tennis player. The girls' regular looked unconcerned at the center of the circle. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but the expressions on their faces were unmistakable. They were yelling in frustration at the one in the middle. For her part, Aya simply stood there and made no replies. Then one of the girls grabbed her. To Fuji, it was strangely reminiscent of Aya's first encounter with Arai. He could see that she was still wearing a smirk on her face. He began walking towards the group.

"She doesn't deserve either one."

"We need to protect our prince and Oishi-sempai from people like her!"

The girls crowded behind that biggest girl.

Aya narrowed her eyes at the girl holding onto her. The hands at her side curled up into fists. _Well, so much for that no-fighting bet. Dammit, I really should stop making bets against my brothers_.

Suddenly, the taller girl let her go and backed away. Aya looked at her. Was that a blush on her face?

Were those blushes on all of the girls' faces?

Then the silly grins appeared. Some of the girls looked startled, while others fixed their hair and put on their most polite faces.

Aya rolled her eyes at the other girls' reactions._ I wonder who he is._

"Fuji-sempai!" one of the girls said in a silly voice.

Aya turned around and was startled to find the boy with chestnut brown hair had approached her without triggering any of her senses and was nearly beside her. Except this boy did not seem like the same boy that she had been in practice with for the last week. His trademark smile was gone; his deep blue eyes had an air of gravity. For a brief moment, the tensai looked frighteningly dangerous.

But when the two tennis players made eye contact, the smile reappeared, and his eyes closed. Without a word, he walked off, leaving all the girls speechless. They watched in silence as he headed off campus.

He had just gone out of sight when Aya realized that he had been carrying two tennis bags. She took off after him, leaving behind the other girls who were still awestruck.

"Fuji-sempai, wait! Give me back my bag!"

--------------------------------

            Fuji was in an excellent mood as he walked toward the tennis court park. His hand clutched the tennis bag slung over his shoulder. 

As he approached the steps that led up to the courts, he caught sight of three figures sitting at the foot of the steps. What surprised Fuji was that he recognized one of them. It was the high schooler they had encountered during the team's training excursion into the mountains, Sasabe. When Fuji walked closer, one of Sasabe's companions pointed to him, and all three looked at him. The three whispered to each other and got up to block Fuji's way as he neared the foot of the steps.

"Why, it's Fuji Syusuke, the famous tennis tensai of Seigaku," Sasabe said derisively.

"Sasabe-san." Fuji did not let his smile falter one bit.

Being as easily provoked as he was, Sasabe's temper flared at Fuji's coolness. No, the memory of the humiliation he and his family suffered at the hands of the Seigaku tennis team had not faded, but he was looking at one soft-looking middle school student, facing three high-schoolers all by himself. What could that boy do?

"Hey, sweetie. What's a pretty little thing like you doing all by yourself?" one of them said with a lecherous smile.

Fuji paid him no attention. He was quite used to this. Fuji did not think that he much resembled a girl, but his slender frame, slight stature, and quietness had often given people the wrong impression. But the tensai knew that this was not the case here. The three older boys were meaning to provoke him, a mental battle of will and wit to undermine the determination of the short tennis player.

And if this were purely a psychological battle, Fuji knew that he would not lose.

"He's not your type," Sasabe said.

"'He??'" the other said with feigned surprise.

"Oh, I know he looks like a little girl, but don't let his girly voice or that effeminate face fool you. This is the famous tensai of the Seigaku boys' tennis team."

Still, the Seigaku third-year smiled. It was the type of smile that sent shivers down one's back before sending one running. That is, if one were not as dense with stubborn determination as Sasabe was. He wanted revenge, and presented with what was, to him, a perfect opportunity to exact it, he was not going to back down.

"Speaking of the fags, where are your little boyfriends, huh?"

            No answer.

            Sasabe kept pushing; he must have a weak point. "Are you going on a date with your captain, Fuji-_chan? Oh wait, didn't he break his arm or something during a tennis match and have to go to Germany to rehabilitate? Oh, so it must be that 'burning' boy that got all bloodied during his match. Wait, didn't he hurt himself in that tournament too? How incredibly careless of them..."_

            Fuji's smile faded. "I think, Sasabe-_san_, you should be more careful when speaking about my teammates," he said in a low voice.

_Bingo_, Sasabe thought proudly. "Oh, and didn't they both lose, too? That wasn't a good day for your team, wasn't it?" he growled at the boy. "So which of the fruits on your team are you meeting here, queer?"

"Sasab--" Fuji started in an icier voice, but was interrupted by a shout coming from the side.

"Syusuke!" Fuji heard just before he was glomped by the source of the cry. Arms circled around his neck as the female form pressed against him in a hug. 

            "A-Aya," Fuji stammered in an uncharacteristic show of a lack of grace. He looked at the girl who had latched herself onto him.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" she said, pulling back ever so slightly to look straight into his eyes.

Fuji understood and smiling, placed his hands on her waist. "It's okay," he said in an assuring voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry; first I missed the train, and then I got lost. You must have been waiting for such a long time!"

"No, I haven't been waiting long."

"Still, I'll have to find a way to make it up to you, Syusuke," she smiled at him as she brushed her finger on his nose. The boy's chuckled in response.

Sasabe watched this scene playing out in front of him. The boy and girl paid no attention to him as they embraced each other and had this sickening little exchange. It was disgusting. He gave a slight snort.

With her arms still around Fuji's neck, the girl slowly turned her head toward the trio of high school boys as if noticing them for the first time. "Oh, I didn't see your _friends_ over there," she said coolly. Aya gave Sasabe a quick, icy glance-over before turning her face back toward her sempai and asked, "Did I interrupt something?"

Fuji did not answer, but turned to face the high-school boys. The smile had disappeared from his face, and his eyes flashed open for a second before narrowing dangerously at the trio of older boys. It was the type of look that seemed to see past any façade, one left suggested that there was something horrible to come. Sasabe's two friends started to fidget nervously at the sight of Fuji's not oft-seen glare. Sasabe himself pulled back slightly when he saw Fuji's eyes boring holes into him.

Hell, even Aya's first instinct was to pull away, had not she caught herself and realized that she was in the middle of a show. And the show had to go on.

She turned to face the high-schoolers as well, with an evil smirk on her face.

"Uh, w--we have to run," Sasabe stammered. The three backed away until they were a safe distance from the Seigaku students before turning and running off.

The middle-schoolers watched as the older kids fled. Just after they disappeared around the corner, a small chuckle escaped from the girl. Fuji smiled as the chuckles grew into giggles. "Cowards," Aya said as she turned her head to look at her sempai. She felt the heat rise to her face as she realized just how close she was to the tensai and what a compromising position she was in. She moved her arms from around the boy's neck.

"Sorry, Fuji-sempai! I shouldn't have been so presumptuous and acted so forward!"

"Uh, no, it's all right. Thank you, Aya-kun, for saving me." 

"Saving you?" Aya replied with a smirk. "Don't ask me why, but I was actually trying to save them. You looked quite scary, and they looked like they needed an opportunity to run away."

"You heard everything?"

"Just the last part. Fuji-sempai is very protective of his teammates, ne?"

Fuji did not respond, but simply looked at her with opened eyes.

_Such beautiful eyes. That's the prettiest shade of blue I've ever seen_, Aya thought._ But why is he staring at me like that? Creepy._

Perhaps it was that Fuji could really read minds or perhaps it was the legendary special sense that made Fuji a tensai, but immediately after that thought flashed through Aya's head, Fuji put on his normal smile again, and his eyes disappeared.

"You're dressed up. Are you going on a date?"

"Huh?" She looked down and realized that she _was_ dressed up. Well, dressed up for her, anyway. Her hair was tied up with a ribbon rather than her usual elastic band. She was wearing a skirt that flowed down to mid-calf, the only skirt (other than her tennis and school uniforms) she owned, in fact.

"'A date'? I guess you can call it that," she answered light-heartedly. "I'm on my way to a big family gathering."

Fuji looked her, head slightly tilted in puzzlement. "You look very pretty today, Aya-kun," he said in a louder-than-usual voice.

Aya blinked, and it was at this moment that she realized that she was _still very close to the tensai, whose hands were _still _resting comfortably on her waist. A slight blush spread across her face as she murmured self-consciously, "Thanks, Fuji-sempai." She brought her left arm up to look at her watch, "Oh no, I'm late! I have to go now!"_

Fuji released her as she pulled away. Having ran a few steps off, she turned and smiling, waved to him, "See you later, Fuji-sempai!"

Fuji returned the smile with one of his own and waved goodbye to the girl who was now running off again.

A smirk appeared on the face of the tensai.

"Hello, _Yuuta_," Fuji loudly addressed the shocked boy at the top of the stairs behind him without looking at him. The tensai had been aware of his brother's presence for several minutes by this time. He had arrived just after Sasabe and gang took off and had been watching the exchange between his brother and the girl.

"A--aniki…" Yuuta said softly, almost in a whisper. Then he clenched his fist as a vein on his forehead began to throb. He had caught that smirk in his aniki's voice and was certain that the same was now gracing the elder Fuji's face.

Fuji turned and walked up the stairs. When he reached the top, he said to his brother with a huge smile on his face, "Yuuta, shall we began our date now?"

"Idiot, don't call it a date!! It's not a date!" Yuuta's face grew bright red as he stormed off. His brother chuckled and followed behind.

Fuji hadn't planned on spending his one free day on the courts. However, when Yumiko asked him to bring a package to Yuuta, he couldn't ignore the opportunity knocking on his door. Fuji used the one thing that he knew Yuuta would not be able to resist: he invited Yuuta to the tennis courts.

            It had been a long time since he had spent some quality time with his little brother. Yuuta had been there to watch the matches at Kantou, but circumstances had prevented Fuji from really speaking to his little brother, whom he missed dearly. Sure, it had been fun unnerving Aya and the girls from the day before, but it was nothing compared to the fun he could have teasing Yuuta. His reactions were just so _predictable. That boy was as readily flustered as Oishi and blushed as easily as Kaidoh. _

            And Yuuta hated himself for it.

And he hated his _aniki _for preying on it.

Fuji knew that it may be a little cruel, but hey, what's the good of having a cute baby brother if you can't torture him once in a while?

Fuji was slightly disappointed to find Yuuta had invited some other people along for their little get-together. Specifically, three of his teammates had accompanied him to the tennis courts: Atsushi Kisarazu, Shinya Yanagizawa, and Hajime Mizuki.

It seemed like the brothers never spent any time alone anymore. Fuji wistfully remembered the days when his little brother idolized him and followed him everywhere. But he was also grateful for any time he had with Yuuta. Anyway, now he had another chance to have some fun pushing the buttons of one Hajime Mizuki.

Mizuki knew Yuuta wanted to play against his _aniki_, but he couldn't allow that. Truth be told, if there were going to be a singles match, Mizuki would have liked the chance for some revenge against the Seigaku tensai. However, there was only one court and five players. Through the luck of a draw, Fuji was paired up with Kisarazu against Yuuta and Yanagizawa in the tennis match, and Mizuki was once again left to referee.

_At least I can collect some data on him_, Mizuki thought.

Soon after the set began, he realized just how futile that was going to be, as the tensai was obviously not taking the game too seriously. To the dismay of the St. Rudolph data man, Fuji seemed more interested in chatting with his brother from across the net during the game than playing tennis. This didn't upset Fuji's head-banded partner though: they were still winning 5-2.

"Are you having fun today, Yuuta?" 

Kisarazu easily returned Yanagizawa's shot.

"Shut up and play seriously!"

Fuji frowned in a half-serious manner. "You used to want to talk with me all the time."

Yanagizawa hit the ball back toward Kisarazu.

"Why don't you talk to her instead?" Yuuta replied, running to catch the shot just hit by Kisarazu.

"'Her'? Who 'her'?" Fuji responded innocently. He moved to cover the side left open by his partner.

"That ugly wench you were holding earlier," Yuuta grunted as he hit the ball toward his brother.

"Gee, how many times do I have to apologize? I was only a couple of minutes late!" the Seigaku girls' regular pleaded to her companion.

"Fine, fine, just shut up already. I'm sick of hearing your bad American accent," the tall young man replied.

"Like yours is perfect."

As the pair walked, a fence came into view.

"So this is the great secret place you were dragging me off to? A tennis court?"

"You said I got to choose, so shut up about it! Besides, it's not _just a tennis court. I saw one of my sempais come here earlier with tennis gear. If you're lucky, you'll maybe get to see him play!"_

He groaned. "I don't understand what you see in that game. It's so boring."

"Hey! Like baseball's real exciting. 'Ooh, I stand out in the middle of right field where no one ever hits the ball!'"

"Watch it," he warned. He walked to Aya's side at the fence.

"Oh, come on. See the one with the brown hair?" Aya pointed to the tensai. "That's the guy from my school."

"The one with his eyes closed?"

"Yeah."

"Why's he smiling?"

"I dunno. He's always like that."

"How does he see?"

"Good question. I've been trying to figure that out myself."

"He's not doing anything. It looks like he's just chatting with that other kid."

"Hmm, you're right. But he's really good… really, really good when he wants to be."

Just then, they could see Fuji's expression change in response to something the taller brown-haired boy said. There was a flash of seriousness as he returned a shot from the boy with an X-shaped scar on his forehead. Everybody's jaw dropped when the ball landed in his opponents' court and, instead of bouncing up, crawled across the ground.

"An--aniki…" Yuuta stammered in astonishment.

"The Swallow Return…" Mizuki mouthed. He quickly recovered. _One of Fuji's famous Triple Counters. Huh, what Yuuta said must have really pissed him off for him to pull out that move. Mizuki snickered.__ I will get your data yet, Fuji-kun. "Game and match, Kisarazu-Fuji pair, six games to two."_

            The announcement by Mizuki snapped Fuji back into reality. He looked and saw the shock on his little brother's face. Fuji's hitting the Swallow Return was purely accidental, an atypical show of anger for him. He turned to Mizuki and could _see the calculations going through the data man's head. "Maa," Fuji chuckled._

"Oh my god! Did you see that? What the hell was that?!"

"That… must have been one of Fuji-sempai's famed special moves, the Triple Counters." Aya replied, still a little shocked from witnessing such a shot.

"That was so fucking cool!!"

"And you thought tennis was boring," Aya smirked. "But will you stop your shouting already?" she admonished.

It was too late; all eyes on the tennis court had turned toward the source of commotion.

"Aya-kun." Fuji smiled as he walked toward the pair at the fence.

Sheepishly, Aya dragged her companion onto the court. "Hello." She surveyed the group on the court. Behind Fuji was the boy with the scar, two boys with sleek bluish hair, with one wearing a headband, and a tall boy with reddish hair that, for reasons she couldn't place her finger on exactly, reminded her of Donald Duck.

"Why don't you introduce us to your _kanojo_*, Fuji-kun?" Mizuki said when he approached the Seigaku students. Something about his voice sent shivers down Aya's back.

Fuji pointedly ignored the request. He was acting as if he had heard nothing. Mizuki clenched his fists. _That bastard!_

The tensai looked at his teammate and her older companion and smiled. "How is your date going, Aya-kun?"

"Huh?" the young man with Aya asked.

Aya sniggered. "Just fine, Fuji-sempai. This is my older brother, Ken."

"Kenichi Tsuyoshi, nice to meet you," he offered his hand to Fuji.

"Tsuyoshi-san," Fuji took his hand and shook it.

"You don't have to be so formal with him, Fuji-sempai. Just call him Ken."

"Yeah, Ken's fine."

"Ahh, okay, Ken-san."

Fuji grabbed Yuuta's arm and pulled him next to himself. "This is my little brother," Fuji said, smiling.

"I am not your little brother! I am me, I am Fuji Yuuta! Fuji YUUTA!" Yuuta grew bright red in frustration.

Ken stole a look at his sister, but decided not to comment.

Smiling, Fuji continued, "He goes to St. Rudolph's, and he's in the tennis club there. He's a second-year like you."

"Hello, nice to meet you, Fuji Yuuta-kun," Aya said, putting emphasis on the last part.

"Uh, hello," Yuuta blushed slightly, realizing what a scene he had just made about his name. Kisarazu cleared his throat. "These are my sempais."

Kisarazu gave a quick greeting, while Yanagizawa sidled up next to Aya and asked, "I'm Shinya Yanagizawa, da-ne. Do you want to go on a date with me, da-ne?"

"Excuse me? What did you just say to my little sister?" Ken said in a threatening voice, causing Yanagizawa to pull back slightly. Aya chuckled at overprotective brother act.

            Then he spoke up; "I am Hajime Mizuki, a member of the special reinforcement group at St. Rudolph's. It's _so nice to meet you." There was something so unctuous about his voice that it felt almost sinister. Mizuki stole a look at the tensai. _Finally, some useful data on him!__

            "I'm Ayazumi Tsuyoshi, a second-year on Seigaku girls' tennis team."

            "Ahh. So, how long have you known Fuji-kun, Aya-chan? I don't think I've heard him mention you at all…" Mizuki asked, seemingly innocently. It was a perfect chance for him to gather as much information on the tensai as he possibly can.

            "I've never heard him mention you either," Aya replied. "But I've only known him for a week."

            "Oh," Mizuki said disappointedly. Was that a smirk on Fuji's face that he just saw?

            "So, are you guys going to be playing in the mixed doubles tournament?"

            "Uh, no. Our school is all-boys."

            "Oh."

            For a moment, there was just silence.

            "Hey, Fuji-chan," Aya's brother spoke up. "That last shot you did was so cool! You should teach it to her," he gestured to his sister. "She doesn't have any special shots or anything."

            Aya elbowed her brother. "Shut up, Ken."

            "What? Hey, I'm your older brother. Show me some respect here."

            "No."

            "What do you mean 'no'?"

            "No. _'N-O.' Uh-uh, _no way_."_

            He gave his little sister a little shove on her arm, causing her to lose balance for a second. "See what I have to deal with? I bet your little brother doesn't treat you like that, right Fuji-chan?"

            "I AM NOT HIS LITTLE BROTHER!"

            "Oh right. I forgot about that. Sorry, uh…" Ken hesitated. _Damn, what was his name again_?

            Yuuta gritted his teeth as he made a fist. What was so hard about his name that people just can't seem to remember it?

            "Yuuta," Aya reminded her brother, surprising Yuuta out of his anger. Aya felt bad for him; with two accomplished athletes for older brothers, she knew exactly he might be feeling.

            "Ah, right, Yuuta-chan. Sorry, sorry."__

            "What have you been doing in college? You can't remember anything anymore." At this, her brother gave Aya a punch on her arm. "Ow," she whined.

            The boys exchanged glances; it's been a long time since they've seen a brother and sister pair act so unsibling-like. Fuji spoke to break the tension. "Where do you go to school, Ken-san?"

            "I'm a sophomore at Stanford."

            "Stanford! Isn't that in America, da-ne?" Yanagisawa exclaimed, asking for all the St. Rudolph students.

            "Yeah… Ken and I are from America," Aya answered cautiously.

            "America… wow." _That explains a lot._

            "Hey, Aya, I hate to interrupt this, but we have to leave or we're going to be late."

            "Oh right! Let's go then! It was nice meeting you all. See you tomorrow, Fuji-sempai."

            "Nice meeting you. Bye," Ken said to the younger boys. 

"Come on, Ken. Let's finish our date." Aya, grinning, hooked her arm around her brother's arm. The man shook his head slightly with a sigh, and the two walked away. 

The boys all stared as the brother and sister walked off. The St. Rudolph boys felt slightly rattled by the strangeness of the two Americans they had just met. Fuji, however, watched wistfully, slightly jealous that his relationship with his brother was hardly that close. This melancholy quickly disappeared as Fuji decided that he liked the relationship he and his brother had.

"Let's finish _our_ date, Yuuta."

"IT'S NOT A DATE, BAKA!!!"

*_kanojo – female friend. It just doesn't sound right with the translated version._

**A/N: Wow, this story has gotten off-track. (I'm kinda losing interest like most people.) It's going back to the team in the next chapter. Thanks to all the people who have read and/or reviewed!!!!**

**Next: A special guest appearance by some very special people. :-)**


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